Change-speed gear



July 2, 1929. i V, VALLET 1,719,032

CHANGE SPEED GEAR Filed April 19, 1928 Fig. 1

Zim/e tar.-

Cit

Patented July 2, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE.

VITTORIO VALLETTA, OF TURIN, TALY, ASSIGNOR TO FIAT SOCIETA ANONIMA, OF TURIN, ITALY, A CORPORATION OF ITALY.

CHANGE-SPEED GEAR.

Application led April 19, 1928, Serial No. 271,279, and in Italy April 28, 1927.

The present invention has for its object a locking device for members shitting the movable pinion sets in pinion change speed gears for automotive vehicles and the like.

In accordance with this invention the inotion is imparted by actuating means to a part carrying a pinion-set shifting `forli, with the cooperation of an intermediate member which has a. lost motion with respect to said part, and the locking action is produced by a spring operated plunger adapted to engage both said intermediate member and forli carrying part7 said plunger being adapted to be made inoperative under an action exerted on said intermediate member while it cannot be released under an action operative on said pinion-set shitting tori; or on the part carrying it.

In the annexed drawing is illustrated by way of example an embodiment ol' the present invention, and y Figure 1 thereof is a fragmentary longitudinal section of a change speed gear provided with the present invention; my

Figur-e 2 is a transverse section of the top portion of the change speed gear box in which the actuating lever is mounted, said section being taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 shows separately the forli loclring device on an enlarged scale.

The change speed gear comprises as usual a boX 1 in which are mounted a driving shaft 2, a driven shaft 3 and a countershaft a.

On said driven shaft 3 are mounted to move a direct drive dog clutch 5 which is rigidly connected to pinion 6 and a riding set ot pinions 7 8, said pinions being intended to mesh respectively with the corresponding pinions 26-27 ot the countershatt f1; The pinion 28 is intended to be engaged by pinion 6. Pinions 6 and 7-8 have a unitary rotation and are movable longitudinally on the splined portion 3 ot the driven shalt 3.`

Pinions 6 and 78 are controlled by means of a control lever 9 mounted to float by a ball support 10 and a spring 11 in the cover 29 of the change speed gear box; the bottom head 12 of said lever 9 being adapted to be carried into selective engagement with the seats 13 of three control rods 111. The lever 9 has a stop 15 actuated as usual by a handle on the manipulating lever 9 and adapted to prevent undue motion of said lever. rlhese parts are not described and illustrated in detail as they are well known in the art.

T11 accordance with tbe present invention the pinion shifting orh 1G (see Figure il) in tended to actuate a movable pinion or pinion set, instead ot being directly 'liastcned (in the respective rod 1/1, is carried by a sleeve 17 mounted to slide on rod 14; and engaged therewith with lost motion in longitiulinal direction by a ball 1S located in a seat 19 in sleeve .17 and in an elongated recess 20 provided in the rod leiI and elongated in longitudinal di rection.

In rod 111 are provided truste-conical notches 21 registering with tapering or beveledge holes 241 provided in sleeve 17, and each oli the notches 21 and cooperating hole Qfl provide a seat `llora locking member consisting of a plunger 23 acted on by a spring 22, said plunger having a truste conical end portion 25 intended to enter one ot the notches 21 and a cylindrical portion 25 intended to engage the hole 24.

Vllhen the movable pinion set actuated by the fork 16 is in one o'li its operative positions, the head 25-25 of plunger 23 engages one of the recesses provided by a pair of cooperating holes 21l and notches 21, while the ball 18 is in the middle portion of its elongated seat 2O in rod 14.

In this position ot the parts, as shown in Figure 3, a longitudinal action produced ou fork 1G and sleeve 17 cannot cause said sleeve and fork to move because the bevel edge oi hole 24C engages the cylindrical or abrupt portion 25 of the plunger head, and said bevel edge has no action on the plunger; on the contrary when lever 9 is manipulated, said lever shifts rod 14, which may move with respect to sleeve 1 7 owing` to the lost-motion interconnection provided by ball 18 and seat 20, and the bevel surface of its notch 21 acts to displace plunger' 23 by acting on its bevel end 25,

Thereafter the bevel end oi plunger 23 is in front of the bevel edge ot hole 2li ot sleeve 17 and it may be shifted under the action produced on sleeve 17 by rod 111 and its manipulating means.

Thus owing to the described arrangement the control means firstly move the rod 111 owing to its lost motion with respect to sleeve 17 which is locked by the plunger, and then they put the said plunger in condition for being-entirely released under the action produced thereon by sleeve 17 through its bevel-edge hole, when said sleeve is shifted by the rod lll;

and manipulating means after the. lost-inotion connection has been carried into driving condition.

When a new operative position is reached by the parts, plunger 23 snaps again in registering hole 24 of the sleeve 17 and the notch 21 in rod 14, which parts 21- 24 come into the register with it, under the action of its spring 22, thus locking the parts in correct registering position.

.What I claim as my invention and desire to Vsecure by United States Letters Patent is z- 1. `A locking device for movable pinion sets in change speed gears, comprising a pinionset shifting member, a part connected with lost-motion with said member, means for actuating said lost-inotion part, registering sloping means `in said shifting member and `shifting member.

2. A locking device for movable pinion sets Vin change speed gears, comprising a pinionsetshifting member, a part adjacent Vto said member, said adjacent part and shifting member constituting companion elements, a. lostmotion connecting part rigid with one of said companion elements and engaged in an elongated recess of the other one, means for actuating said lost-motion part, registering ysloping surface in register with the sloping means of the lost-niotion part and an abrupt surface in register with the sloping means of said shifting member.

3. A locking device for movable pinion sets in change speed gears, comprising a sleeve, mounted t-o reciprocate in the change speed gear box, a. pinion set shifting fork connected with said sleeve, a rod extending into said sleeve, means providing a lost-motion interconnection between said rod and sleeve, said rod having tapering notches in its surface and said sleeve having bevel-edge holes in its wal'. in register with said rod notches, a plunger mounted to move t ansversely to said rod and sleeve, and a snapv spring acting on said plunger, said plunger having a tapering head engaging the tapering rod notches and au abrupt surface lying in front of the bevel edge of the sleeve holes when said taperingr head is seated home in said rod notches.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

VITTORIO VALLET TA. 

